The Hindu Business Line : `Make Kerala a preferred health tourism destination'

Kochi March 24 The second edition of Kerala Health Tourism 2007, the three-day international conference and exhibition, commenced here on Saturday with a call to make more efforts to attract more tourists to this sector.

Inaugurating the function, jointly organised by the CII and Tourism Department, the Kerala Tourism Minister, Mr Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, called upon the stakeholders to promote the State as a preferred destination for health tourism. He pointed out that around 15,000 tourists visited last year and more efforts would be needed to make it one lakh in the next five years.

According to the Minister, several small countries such as Thailand are earning more revenue than India in the field of health tourism and steps should be taken to attract people from Asian and African countries, considering the spending of around $2,000 crore every year in these countries for availing treatment abroad. It is estimated that India would garner Rs 45,000 crore from health tourism in the next six years, he added.

The Minister also called upon the super speciality hospitals, which are coming up in the State, to brace itself to provide world-class healthcare facilities. Treatments in the areas of cosmetic, dental, eye surgeries and kidney transplantation can be provided here in much lower costs than in other countries, he said.

Profitable venture

Dr Philip Augustine, Chairman, KHT 2007, in his theme address said that medical tourism in India is going to be $2.3 billion industry by 2012 as per the Mc Kenzie study and the CII foresees a big business opportunity for Kerala in the sector. The CII target in dental tourism is to emulate the pre-eminent position Hungary has achieved in this field.

Similarly, a standardisation and accreditation process of ayurveda therapy should be the next target for CII, he said.

Kerala can offer treatment packages in cosmetic surgery, dental procedures, heart surgeries, orthopaedic procedures, organ transplants at one-fourth to one-sixth the prices prevalent in the western world, he said. CII-Kerala is also committed to the Government that 10 per cent of the revenue generated in medical tourism initiatives would be earmarked for medical care of the poor in the State, he added.

According to Dr Augustine, the goal of making Kerala as one of the top five destinations around the globe by attracting one lakh `medical value travellers' by 2010 is an achievable target with the government and industry participation. CII has advised all its member hospitals to go in for National Accreditation Board for Hospital and Healthcare Institution (NABH) to make the State a preferred medical tourism destination.

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